1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card processing system and a card processing method used in a toll road.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic type pre-paid cards (hereinafter, referred to as magnetic cards) that are currently in use widely in the market are highly usable for users because the cards are anonymous in indefinite terms and usable by many unspecified persons.
On the other hand, magnetic cards always have a risk of illegal rewriting of recorded data such as monetary information, etc. From the viewpoint of weakness of security, a balance of pre-paid amount of magnetic cards is only subtracted and generally discarded when a balance of amount becomes zero (0).
So, the security of magnetic cards that are highly usable is promoted by making them in IC cards in recent years.
In the transportation facilities, for example, railway facilities, a card processing system using wireless type pre-paid IC cards that are used to enter/exit to/from an automatic ticket examiner installed at an entrance gate by touching or holding up a pre-paid IC card to or over the machine is already put in practical use.
From now on, it is expected that wireless type pre-paid IC cards will be introduced into other transportation facilities, for example, toll roads, etc. However, a toll collection system called as the Electronic Toll Collection System (ETC System) is already introduced for toll roads. For this ETC system, however, users are forced to make a contract for use of a credit card type IC card, purchase of an on board vehicle unit and set up it on a vehicle for the wireless communication with a system. Because of this, the current state is such that the switching of the ETC system card to the current magnetic type pre-paid card is not further progressed
Further, the ETC system is of a credit card type, there is no such a trouble generated as short of balance amount at the time of payment of toll and it is not necessary for a clerk to cope with. However, in the case of wireless type pre-paid IC cards, as a clerk is required to cope with when a balance of amount recorded thereon is short, it is required for a clerk to collect roll after properly discriminating a vehicle having a short balance amount.